Based on the earliest documented records, agarwood should have entered the lives of the royal nobility starting from the Han Dynasty. Incense was used in the rituals of worshiping the gods of ancestral temples, heaven, earth, mountains, rivers, and spirits, and this practice likely began in the early tribal societies. However, it was during these religious rituals that the presence of agarwood in incense started to emerge.
The practice of indoor incense burning dates back as early as 4,000 to 5,000 years ago. During the Warring States period, the use of indoor incense became even more widespread, with indoor braziers serving purposes such as worship, lighting, and heating, in addition to burning incense indoors. As time passed, and through a long process of cultural evolution, it wasn't until the appearance of the Western Han Dynasty's "Bo Shan Lu" (Bo Mountain Stove) on the stage of incense culture history that specialized incense burners designed exclusively for incense gradually became part of the daily household items of the royal and noble class.
